June 4, 2020 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for flights to Croatia with updates from Zagreb, Split and Dubrovnik, Zadar and Pula. 

Croatian Aviation reports that given that the borders between EU member states should open from June 15, the Croatian national carrier has released tickets for sale to several European destinations from Zagreb.

In addition to the existing international lines from Zagreb to Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Zurich, from June 15, the following flights are on sale:

Zagreb - Brussels, 4 times a week (Mon, Thu, Fri, Sun),

Zagreb - Munich, 3 times a week (Mon, Wed, Fri),

Zagreb - Sarajevo, 3 times a week (Mon, Wed, Fri),

Zagreb - London, 2 times a week (Mon, Fri),

Zagreb - Split - Rome, 3 times a week (Mon, Thu, Sun).

From June 16, the Zagreb - Dublin line will be introduced, 3 times a week (Tue, Thu, Sun), and from June 18, the Zagreb - Vienna line will be introduced, 2 times a week (Thu, Sun).

On the routes to London and Dublin, A319 / A320 aircraft will operate, while on other routes, smaller capacity aircraft of the DashQ400 type will operate.

As of June 15, Croatia Airlines will operate to 11 international destinations, along with domestic routes to Dubrovnik, Split, Zadar and Pula.

As of Monday, June 22, the company has more weekly flights on sale than in the first week of operations, but Croatia Airlines is likely to further modify its flight schedule for that period.

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June 3, 2020 - TCN meets the current EU Presidency Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli who kindly agreed to answer questions on the current travel situation in Croatia and the EU.

There is a lot of talk about the internal borders being opened on June 15, but I can't find an official announcement. Are EU internal borders opening on June 15?

We are aiming to reopen internal borders on June 15 or June 16, but this has not yet been 100% confirmed. An announcement will be made shortly. There is also a big meeting of EU members scheduled for June 19. While we all want tourism to start, the epidemiological situation must be under control. Even when we do open borders, I would expect some countries to have restrictions. We are working towards a date of June 15. This opening of borders will be for all EU states, not just those in Schengen. 

What about external EU borders and continental flights?

We are currently working with the airlines towards an opening of external borders on July 1, but ONLY for countries which have a good epidemiological situation.

If an American is already living or travelling in Europe, can they currently visit Croatia?

Yes. If they can get to the Croatian border and fulfill Croatia's entry requirements, they are very welcome. We have had 316 Americans entering the country in recent days. 

There has been speculation about air bridges from the UK to other tourism countries, including Croatia. Can you tell us more?

No. I have been involved in no such discussions, yet.

What is the situation for people wanting to drive to Croatia from across Europe. Are there any problems?

I have heard of a couple of isolated incidents, but in general, there is no problem. My strong advice is to register your details at https://entercroatia.mup.hr/ This is a service that we developed very quickly so that we can facilitate smoother travel for our guests, a quicker border crossing, and the ability to contact our guests in the event of a virus outbreak. If you are driving to Croatia, fill in this form and you will receive a confirmation from the Croatian police. Show that confirmation and proof of paid reservation, and you will have no problem. 

I hope this clarifies some of your readers' questions. I hope you all have a wonderful stay in our beautiful country. You are all very welcome.

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June 4, 2020 - With tourism slowly starting, who is flying to Split and Dubrovnik, and how many flights are scheduled this month?

I met with Croatian Minister of Tourism, Gari Cappelli yesterday to discuss various issues relating to tourism. Minister Cappelli gave me some official answers on EU border openings, air bridges and driving across Europe to enter Croatia. I will publish this interview once all the information in the article is double-checked, hopefully today. Croatia currently hold the EU presidency, so Minister Cappelli is speaking on behalf of the EU, so all must be 100% correct. 

One other issue I asked for is better access to current information for our readers. We start with something many people want to know - who is flying to Split, how many planes are there, and where from. PLEASE NOTE this is purely advisory and you should check everything with the relevant airline. Changes and cancellations are inevitable. 

This is what I received. 

Dear Mr. Bradbury,

following your inquiry about the number of flights, below you can find information about flight announcements.

IMPORTANT! – This information are announcements and are subject to change.

Regarding the airport in Split: There are a total of 365 active flights (39 to 15 June + 326 second half of June) with 115,365 seats. Although the announcements are still valid, it is realistic to expect the realization of about 50 percent of the announced flights (180 flights).

Destinations for Airport Split in June 2020:

At Dubrovnik Airport, in the second half of June, there are currently 10 active flights from Tel Aviv, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Oslo, Pariz, Nantes, Porto and confirmation of additional routes is expected.

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ZAGREB, June 3, 2020 - Austria is lifting all restrictions on cross-border travel with its neighbouring countries, except with Italy, as of Thursday, and restrictions are still in place for travel from Croatia, Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg was quoted by Reuters as saying.

The abolition of restrictive measures introduced due to the coronavirus pandemic also refers to the abolition of mandatory quarantine for persons coming from abroad and of health checks of persons coming from seven countries - Germany, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, and Hungary.

The measure of quarantine and the obligation of having a negative test result for the coronavirus have been lifted for all travellers returning to Austria from abroad.

Health Minister Rudolf Anschober told reporters that he had not ruled out the possibility of opening borders to Italy mid-June, given the fact that the coronavirus situation in many Italian regions is similar to that in Austria's neighbouring countries.

As Minister Schallenberg said, Austria decided to ease restriction measures earlier than planned because it wanted to do it at the same time as Germany, which allowed entry to citizens of 29 European countries as of Wednesday.

Asked about travel to countries like Croatia and Greece, popular holiday destinations among Austrians, the foreign minister said that the government in Vienna would decide on it next week.

Negotiations are ongoing with the government in Rome to allow travel to those Italian region deemed safe.

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June 3, 2020 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for flights to Croatia with updates from Zagreb, Split and Dubrovnik, and Zadar.

As we announced earlier, Lufthansa will fly from Frankfurt to Dubrovnik and Pula from the end of June. However, Croatian Aviation announced today that the company published a modified flight schedule to destinations in Croatia, according to which Lufthansa normally operates in the summer flight schedule.

In addition to the reintroduction of the Frankfurt-Dubrovnik route, Lufthansa will operate again on the Munich-Dubrovnik route from June 20, once a week, every Saturday. A larger number of weekly flights is expected from the beginning of July when the company could fly on both routes (from Frankfurt and Munich) daily to Dubrovnik.

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Lufthansa is returning to Split Airport, connecting this city with Frankfurt and Munich.

From June 20, the line Munich - Split will be introduced, once a week, every Saturday, and from June 27, the line Frankfurt - Split, also once a week, on Saturdays. As is the case with Dubrovnik, a number of weekly flights to Split Airport is expected from July.

On routes to Split and Dubrovnik, Lufthansa will use aircraft from the A320 family (A319, A320, A321) in accordance with the demand and booking on each flight. Smaller aircraft will be used on the route from Frankfurt to Pula.

Likely, the company will not launch other routes to Croatia (Zadar and Rijeka) in June, while the Munich-Zagreb route will most likely be launched by Croatia Airlines, with which Lufthansa has a code-share agreement.

Furthermore, Brussels Airlines previously announced that it would not fly to Zagreb and Zadar this summer season, but has retained the option of launching flights to Dubrovnik and Split.

Croatian Aviation reports that the airline announced a plan to resume regular operations to European destinations from June 15, and from June 27, the destination network will include the Brussels - Dubrovnik line.

The company will operate on the Brussels - Dubrovnik line twice a week, every Tuesday and Sunday, on an A320 aircraft with a capacity of 180 passengers in the fleet of this carrier.

The company plans to introduce regular flights on the Brussels - Split route from July, and at the beginning of next month, the company will increase the number of weekly flights to Dubrovnik (probably to four weeks). The flight schedule of this company for July has not been finalized yet, and when it is confirmed, we will publish the details.

Croatian Aviation also reports that Spanish airline Iberia has announced the resumption of its flights to destinations in Europe as well as those in the US. Among others, the company has included the Madrid-Dubrovnik route in its schedule.

The company normally operates to Zagreb, Zadar, Split and Dubrovnik from Madrid in the summer flight schedule, but in July, according to current announcements, it will only launch a line to Dubrovnik.

From mid-July, Iberia will operate on the Madrid-Dubrovnik - Madrid route 3 times a week, and announces daily flights from the beginning of August. The company has previously announced larger aircraft, the wide-body A332, but, likely, this type of aircraft will not be used on the route to Dubrovnik Airport this summer season, given that demand will be lower than planned before the pandemic.

The route will be operated by A321 aircraft, which has a capacity of 200 passengers in the Iberian fleet.

The company confirmed to us that the flight schedule for July has not yet been finalized, so the possibility of introducing lines from Madrid to Zagreb and Split is left, while the line Madrid - Zadar is expected from August.

Finally, Avio Radar reports that Czech airline Smartwings announced the resumption of flights on June 10. The first flight announced that day is from Prague to Split. The flight to Split will be followed by the launch of other routes, mainly to Greece and Bulgaria. 

The Prague-Split route will run twice a week in the first week, on Wednesday and Saturday. The second week of traffic will see an additional flight introduced on Monday, and from June 24, the line will operate daily. The Prague-Dubrovnik line has been announced from July 1, every day. From Poland, lines from Katowice and Warsaw to Split are on offer once a week, on Thursdays, from June 18. 

Charter lines are also planned, namely Ostrava-Split, on Saturdays from June 13 and Polish destinations Gdansk, Katowice, Poznan, and Warsaw to Dubrovnik from June 25 once a week, on Thursdays. 

Boeing 737-800 aircraft will fly on the routes, and smaller Boeing 737-700 aircraft or larger Boeing 737-900s can also fly. 

June 3,  2020 - On Tuesday in Pula, Minister of Tourism Gari Cappelli assessed that the fact that 33,000 tourists are currently staying in Croatia is a good start, and that number is increasing day by day.

"If someone had told us two months ago that we would have between 30,000 and 40,000 tourists in early June, we probably wouldn't have believed them. However, these figures are good and represent a good start, and we got this credit thanks to people from the Civil Protection and health workers," Cappelli said on Slobodna Dalmacija, adding that Croatia, unlike other competing countries such as Italy, Spain and France, prevented the pandemic from spreading in time.

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Commenting on the information that the influential American magazine Forbes listed three Croatian destinations among the 20 safest and best European destinations for post-corona travel and tourism - Zagreb, Cavtat and Rijeka, Cappelli pointed out that Croatia created a great program and received 'credit in tourism'.

"We have always been recognizable for the safety and nature in Croatia. Now it turns out that security is again the strongest asset of Croatia for this season and I believe that this is the main reason for coming to our country. Croatia managed to defend itself from this pandemic and organize very well," Cappelli asserted.

He also spoke about the Croatian application for travelers, which he assessed as unique in Europe, because "you can make an announcement in advance and enter the country in five seconds".

He also mentioned that Croatia is now at 12-13 percent in terms of tourist traffic compared to last year, and he believes that it will reach 30 to 35 percent in the second half of July and the beginning of August.

"It is interesting that in some continental counties we currently have 50 percent of the turnover compared to last year, because in these counties there are mostly domestic guests," said Cappelli.

On Tuesday in Pula, the Minister of Tourism signed a contract with the director of the School of Tourism, Hospitality and Trade Orhideja Petković to award grants for the Regional Competence Center in Pula worth 44.7 million kuna, and visited tourist facilities in the municipality of Bale where he talked to investors and owners about the state of reservations and expectations from the tourist season after the resumption of tourist activity and the opening of borders.

He also visited the recently completed tourist investment at Villa Noble, worth 13.5 million kuna, and the Meneghetti Wine Hotel and Winery, where an investment worth over 35 million kuna in accommodation and other facilities was also recently completed.

ZAGREB, June 2, 2020 - The Czech authorities said on Monday the country would open up foreign travel from June 15 after introducing a system to classify other countries according to their coronavirus risk, Reuters reported.

Prague will place 19 European states, mostly central, eastern, and southeastern nations, in the least-risky category under its new colour-coded system, and one of those 19 countries is Croatia.

According to this classification, travel to and from Britain and Sweden is in its riskiest category.

"Czechs have undone most restrictions, with restaurants and hotels fully reopened on May 25. But tourism suffered as lockdown measures hit the economy, and only short-term businesss travelers from the European Union, people in transit or students were allowed into the country," Reuters recalls.

"Czechs will be able to travel without restrictions to immediate neighbors Germany, Austria, Poland, and Slovakia, along with Hungary, Romania or Bulgaria as part of its green tier. Other safe countries include Croatia, Greece, Cyprus, Switzerland, the Baltic states, and Finland, Norway, and Iceland.

Citizens from those countries will be allowed in without having to present a negative COVID-19 test, Health Minister Adam Vojtech said on Twitter.

The government placed France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, as well as Ireland, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Belgium in its orange tier, allowing Czechs to travel to those countries without restrictions. However, those countries' citizens will need to present a COVID-19 test.

June 2, 2020 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for flights to Croatia with updates from Zagreb, Split and Dubrovnik, and Zadar.

Ryanair plans to resume traffic to Zadar on selected lines from July. The first line from Stuttgart to Zadar, on which Lauda operates, will run from June 28. All other lines are planned to begin operations from the first week of July. 

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There is not a single new line planned for this year with aircraft based in Zadar. Also, no routes from France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom are on offer. 

Furthermore, on all routes operating from the beginning of July, the number of flights per week has been significantly reduced. Most flights per week have been announced on the Vienna-Zadar route, twice a week from the beginning of July, with reinforcements to three times a week in August. 

In other flight news, Ex Yu Aviation reports that Aegean Airlines has delayed the resumption of all of its flights to Croatia until September. While the airline planned to fly from Athens to Zagreb, Dubrovnik and Split from the beginning of July, they will not resume operations until September 1 to Split, September 2 to Zagreb, and September 3 to Dubrovnik. 

Finally, Croatian Aviation reports that Austrian national carrier Austrian Airlines has confirmed it is re-establishing the Vienna-Zagreb-Vienna route from the end of June.

As announced earlier, Austrian will fly from Vienna to Split and Dubrovnik again this month, so it was logical to expect the introduction of a route to Zagreb, on which, in addition to Austrian, Croatia Airlines also operates regularly.

From June 29, Austrian Airlines will once again connect the capitals of Austria and Croatia with one flight a day.

In the morning, a departure from Vienna to Zagreb is planned at 06:40, with arrival in Zagreb at 7:35. Departure from Zagreb to Vienna is planned for 8:15 am, with arrival in Vienna at 9:15 am.

In the afternoon, the plane will take off from Vienna at 13:10, and the arrival in Zagreb is planned for 14:05. The return to Vienna is at 15:15, with arrival in the Austrian capital at 16:10. In addition to direct (p2p) demand, passengers from Vienna are being offered a large number of destinations in Europe that Austrian will restart from the end of this month.

The smaller capacity aircraft, the DashQ400 and Embraer 190, are planned for the flights.

The company is currently working on a new flight schedule for July, but Austrian is expected to continue flying once a day on the Vienna-Zagreb-Vienna route in the first half of July.

June 2, 2020 - Forbes reveals that Cavtat, Zagreb and Rijeka are among the 20 best European destinations least affected by COVID-19, and thus safest for travel and tourism, according to European Best Destinations. 

On May 28, Croatia fully opened its borders to Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovenia, and Germany. 

“According to our comparative analysis of the epidemiological situation, those are the countries with either similar progress as Croatia or the trends are such that we can adopt such a decision and enable the arrival of those countries’ citizens during the tourist season, with the appropriate epidemiological recommendations and the special application that has already been made,” Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic told his cabinet then. With borders opening, flights resuming and hotels and restaurants operating - tourism in Croatia has begun. 

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Considering Croatia has had only a handful of cases in the last few weeks, and as of yesterday, active cases are down to 66, European Destinations of Excellence, which works to promote sustainable tourism on the continent, has unveiled a list of 20 destinations least affected by Covid-19 (defined as up to 600 times fewer Covid-19 cases).

The southern coastal city of Cavtat comes in at no. 3 on the prestigious list, followed by Zagreb at no. 8 and Rijeka at no. 12!

Forbes' Senior Contributor Celia Rodriguez revealed the news on Monday: 

"Popular with celebrities, families, lovers and fans of gastronomy, culture, nature and water sports, Cavtat is the destination.

Croatia is among the European countries least affected by coronavirus with up to 20 times fewer infected people per million inhabitants than in other European countries.

Croatia is also one of the European countries with the highest number of hospital beds per inhabitant. The hospital in Dubrovnik, the capital, is a 20-minute drive from Cavtat while the airport is only 10 minutes away.

 Cavtat has a large selection of private villas, tourist apartments and small family hotels (selected as travelers’ favorites this summer). In addition, Croatia has implemented hygienic and sanitary measures in larger hotels.

Reopening to travelers on July 1. No quarantine requested."

You can see the full list on Forbes and read more about Zagreb and Rijeka HERE. 

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June 1, 2020 - The Croatian National Tourist Board is conducting a large promotional campaign titled 'The Vacation You Deserve Is Closer Than You Think' in seven European markets - Slovenia, Austria, Germany, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland.

Dalmatinski Portal writes that the campaign will be active during June and July, and is carried out by intensive advertising on Facebook and Instagram, advertising on YouTube, placing ads through the most-watched TV channels, most read portals and newspapers in each market and through outdoor advertising on billboards, city lights and digital panels.

Promotional materials and ads created for advertising are adapted to all six language variants and include tourist products that are best accepted in certain markets and are the motive for the arrival of guests at this time of year, namely the sun and sea, nautical tourism, natural beauty, active tourism through cycling and camping, but also the cultural offer. As part of the campaign, a new promotional video of 30 and 15 seconds was created, which will be used for advertising on online and offline channels in these markets.

"The first reactions to the launched campaign are extremely positive and we believe that they will encourage our traditionally loyal guests from the surrounding markets to spend their holidays in our country. Along with the campaign we are conducting, on a daily basis, we communicate to numerous partners, tour operators, agents and tourists through the network of our Representative Offices the latest information on the possibilities of crossing the Croatian border, the readiness of accommodation facilities to receive guests, and epidemiological guidelines on beaches, swimming pools and restaurants. With each new day, optimism is slowly awakening and I believe that in the end our tourist traffic during June, July and August will be much better than we hoped a month ago at the height of the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic," said CNTB Director Kristjan Stanicic, noting that when good epidemiological conditions and a positive atmosphere for travel are created, the same campaign will be launched in the markets of Italy, France and the Netherlands.

Markets that are primarily air destinations for Croatian tourism, such as Great Britain, Scandinavia, USA, Canada, China, South Korea, are targeted through the campaign 'Enjoy The View From Croatia', in which all stakeholders can participate with their photos and videos.

To read more about travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.